Parts of a Whole: The Multiple Roles of the Lawyer and Professional Identity

The Fall 2024 Symposium will focus on professional identity in the multiple roles a lawyer may play within the legal profession and practice.

Four panels, each with a mix of legal scholars and practitioners, will address the lawyer as counselor, advocate, judge (or some other neutral actor such as mediator), and active participant in public life respectively.

Learning Objectives

  • Learn about and identify the multiple roles of a lawyer as they relate to professional identify formation and continuation.
  • Understand the challenges legal practitioners face regarding professional identity within the enumerated roles of a lawyer.
  • Develop new perspectives on the various roles of a lawyer and stimulate scholarly research for the improvement and betterment of the practice of law.

Dinner and Keynote Address

  • Our keynote speaker is Mary Smith, 2023-24 President of the American Bar Association. She will be introduced by the Hon. R. Lanier Anderson, III
  • This is an invitation-only event

CLE

  • The Georgia Bar approved the symposium for five (5) CLE credits, including two (2) Ethics hours and one (1) Trial hour.

Register

Meet the Panelists

Schedule
2024
Friday, October 4th
9:00 AM

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Rachel N. Ratajczak, Mercer Law Review
Tyler Kelly, Mercer Law Review
Karen J. Sneddon, Mercer University School of Law
Patrick Longan, Mercer University School of Law

9:00 AM - 9:15 AM
9:15 AM

Panel 1: The Lawyer as Counselor

Joan Heminway, University of Tennessee College of Law
D'Andrea Morning, Grady Health System
Ben Parrish, Mercer University School of Law

9:15 AM - 10:30 AM
10:30 AM

Morning Break

Mercer University School of Law

10:30 AM - 10:45 AM
10:45 AM

Panel 2: The Lawyer as Advocate

Mark Brown, Capital University Law School
Jonathan Rapping, John Marshall School of Law (Atlanta)
Christian Stegmaier, Collins & Lacy, P.C.

10:45 AM - 12:00 PM
12:00 PM

Lunch

Mercer University School of Law

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
1:00 PM

Panel 3: The Lawyer as Judge or Other Neutral Actor

Verda Colvin, Supreme Court of Georgia
Charles Geyh, Maurer School of Law - Indiana University
Marc T. Treadwell, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia

1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
2:15 PM

Afternoon Break

Mercer University School of Law

2:15 PM - 2:30 PM
2:30 PM

Panel 4: The Lawyer as Active Participant in Public Life

Doug Ammar, Georgia Justice Project
Gene R. Nichol, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law
Teresa P. Tomlinson, Hall Booth Smith P.C.

2:30 PM - 3:45 PM
3:45 PM

Closing Remarks

Mark L. Jones, Mercer University School of Law
Kaleb Byars, Mercer University School of Law
Tyler Kelly, Mercer Law Review
Rachel N. Ratajczak, Mercer Law Review

3:45 PM - 4:00 PM